Systems which include means for converting analog signals to digital form, then compression filtering and Huffman encoding the signals for recording or for transmission to a remote location, together with playback or receiver means which include a Huffman decoder, a digital reconstruction filter and means for converting the decoded and filtered digital signals back to analog form are shown in the above-identified U.S. patent application Ser. No. 202,457, and in an article by U. E. Ruttimann and H. V. Pipberger entitled, "Compression of the ECG by Prediction or Interpolation and Entropy Encoding", IEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. BME-26, No. 11, pp. 613-623, Nov. 1979. A similar system is shown in an article by K. L. Ripley and J. R. Cox, Jr. entitled, "A Computer System for Capturing Transient Electrocardiographic Data", Pro. Comput. Cardiol. pp. 439-445, 1976. With the present invention, the average bit rate of an analog-to-digital converted audio signal, such as a music, electrocardiogram, or electroencephalogram signal, is reduced sufficiently to allow for digital transmission thereof over low-grade transmission lines and/or recording and playback of a worthwhile quantity of signal using a relatively small amount of recording medium and employing known digital recording and playback techniques.